One woman is speaking out about racist comments made by patients toward Black dentists and staff at an Illinois clinic.
A young Black dentist who goes by LifeWithDrMensah on social media recently started a temporary assignment at a small practice in a town she described as “predominantly white,” though she did not reveal the exact location.
“Majority of the patients are older white individuals who have been coming to the office for 20 to 50 years,” the traveling dentist wrote in a March 24 Instagram caption. “My hygienist told me… some of the incidents that have happened to her recently in the past 2 months.”
The hygienist recalled dental patients using racial slurs, including the N-word, and one instance where a customer complained the dental practice was “too Black.”
According to the caption, a patient said, “This was the best cleaning and most thorough exam she’s ever had, but this office is ‘very Black,’ and she can’t tell anyone that she comes here.”
The demeaning treatment either went unnoticed by management or, worse, was recognized and ignored. Mere days into the job, Dr. Mensah decided to take matters into her own hands and hit “record” on her phone camera — to the delight of thousands of viewers who are applauding her calm handling of the situation.
“First thing Monday morning, this was being addressed. I ain’t got TIME for this,” she wrote in the caption of her March 24 video, which is quickly going viral.
In the short clip, she laid down the law, so to speak, about racist patients, stating that from now on, they would be refused treatment.
“This is something that, first of all, I will not tolerate, period,” she said. “No disrespect to my hygienist, no disrespect to my front desk, no disrespect to my assistants.” She went on to say that all patients who make racist remarks would be identified and turned away for future treatment.
The support poured in from viewers. “Tell ’em, Doc!” cheered one in the comments section on Instagram. Another wrote, “You did a phenomenal job standing your ground!”
“I’m proud of you for being firm, establishing the grounds for respect, and not tolerating that behavior!” wrote one person. “This is how change starts, and we need more brave doctors such as yourself to speak up!!!!”
It’s no secret that Black medical professionals encounter a lack of recognition and even disbelief of their profession due to racial bias.
One 2022 study showed how anti-Black racism impacts every stage of a person’s career, from recruitment and selection to retention and advancement. What’s more, the dental industry is one of the least diverse in the U.S, with African Americans making up about 3.9 percent of the dental workforce according to the American Dental Association, despite being about 13 percent of the U.S. population. Shining a light on the issues — and blasting it across the internet — may just be the best way to inspire real change.
